Tunisia and the Decline of Political Islam wilsoncenter.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wilsoncenter.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In the aftermath of Benghazi's liberation, intelligence gaps obscured our understanding of al-Qa’ida's deep entrenchment, and the lessons from this oversight must be heeded to prevent another tragedy like it, especially with the group's resurgence in Afghanistan.
TUNIS - Overnight, the name of their organization, Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), became famous. They were brought into the spotlight after the deadly attacks on several U.S. embassies that they were accused of organizing after the broadcast of the Islamophobic movie “Innocence of Musli.
Briefs
One Year After the Death of
Abdelmalek Droukdel AQIM Falls into Obscurity
Jacob Zenn
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been considered a stalwart affiliate of al-Qaeda since its predecessor organization, the Salafist Group for Preaching Combat (GSPC), pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda in 2006 (Terrorism Monitor, April 5, 2007). The GSPC leader who pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda, and therefore AQIM’s first leader, was Abdelmalek Droukdel. He led AQIM until his death in a U.S.-supported French operation in northern Mali last year (France24, June 25, 2007). Contrary to reports of Droukdel being uninvolved in operations, videos leaked by either the French or Algerian intelligence services showed that he had been meeting with the Sahel’s top jihadists, Iyad ag Ghali and Hamadou Kufa, in the months before his death (europe1.fr, February 2). Indeed, it was because of informants within the Sahelian jihadist ranks that Droukdel’s location was identified and he was subsequen